Monday, August 3, 2015

Here Is The Reason Why GM's July Car Sales Smashed Expectations



"Fleet deliveries in July were down 20 percent year over year, as the company continues to execute its plan to reduce sales to rental customers and grow commercial and government deliveries. Government sales were up 38 percent, with deliveries to state and local governments up 59 percent."




LIBOR Scapegoat Found Guilty, Sentenced To 14 Years

Update: JUDGE SENTENCES HAYES TO 14 YEARS IN JAIL FOR LIBOR CRIME
Former UBS Group AG and Citigroup Inc. trader Tom Hayes, the first person to stand trial for manipulating Libor, was found guilty of eight counts of conspiracy to rig the benchmark rate.




"Seasonally Data Dependent": Adjusted New Orders Highest In 2015; Unadjusted Lowest Since 2013

A more than cursory look at the ascendent ISM New Orders data reveals something quite unpositive: the only reason they New Orders print came where it did, is due to seasonal adjustments.




Jimmy Carter Rages At What The U.S. Has Become: "Just An Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery"

"It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over."


Kyle Bass’s Warnings about Fractional Reserve Gold Exchanges were Prophetic

from The Wealth Watchman:

Banks Fork Over Enormous Piles of Metal to Stackers
For those who thought June’s stacking strength was merely a fluke, well, let’s just say that July has put all those doubts to rest.  The record amount of metal tucked away by stackers and big money in July is the absolute strongest seen in years.  Everywhere you look around the world, in every precious metals commentary, you’ll see the words “record” or “unprecedented”…and it is putting enormous pressure on the crooked, fractional-reserve gold “exchanges”, like our good pals at the Comex!
In fact,  it’s safe to say that the boys running that con are putting in long, sleepless nights, trying to figure out ways to stretch this thing out just a wee bit longer.  One look at this from Nick Laird, and you’ll instantly see why!
Read More…

The Great Call

Posted at 2:29 PM (CST) by & filed under Bill Holter.
Dear CIGAs,

The world is awash with "promises".  Nearly everything we think of as having "value" is because of a promise behind it.  A few examples;  your bank accounts, retirement funds, bonds and even the dollar bills in your pocket.  Your bank account for example, once you deposit the money it is no longer yours.  You can argue this if you wish but we now know this is true for sure after recent "bail in" legislation passed throughout the west.  When you deposit funds into a bank, it then becomes "their money" held for you …they "owe" it to you.  Do not take this lightly, lawmakers around the world have made this the new reality.  A little known fact, in 1845 Britain passed banking law that made depositors (unsecured creditors), this is still precedent to this day.  When you deposit money you "accept a liability" from your bank and are classified as an unsecured creditor.  In other words, "get in line with everyone else"!
Same thing with many retirement accounts.  Think about Social Security.  When you get your annual statement form, it comes with an asterisk.  This is to inform you they "might need to reduce benefits".  With any retirement account you are relying on the custodian to make payments to you upon retirement.  Think about state and municipal retirement accounts promising the good life, they are nearly ALL underfunded.  Meaning there is not enough money in there to make (promised) future payments unless some sort of magically higher returns are realized.  These are underfunded by the TRILLIONS of dollars!
Bonds are an obvious asset class where a "promise" is relied on.  Dollars on the other hand seem the most misunderstood by the public while being the biggest leap of faith in all asset classes.  Dollars rely on the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. government (a bankrupt entity) yet the populace sleeps through the night secure knowing they own dollars.  ALL non backed, fiat currencies in the past have failed.  The dollar is the widest spread and widely owned fiat the world has ever known, its failure will be spectacular upon arrival!
I wanted to point out the above "promises" as a basis to speak about trust or confidence.  The financial world turns on the axis of "trust".  This trust was nearly broken in 2008 and is the reason the Federal Reserve needed to secretly lend $16 trillion all over the world.  If the Fed had not come up with these funds, failures would have spread and trust would have been broken amongst the banks/other financial institutions and even between the central banks themselves!  The Fed’s largesse worked and trust was maintained.
Now, I believe we are set for another "test" of trust.  We have gone five+ years with QE this and QE that, the reality being outright monetization.  In fact, central banks today are buying more sovereign bonds than are even being issued.  The public and even the professional funds have backed away from the debt markets, you can’t blame them because the interest received does not even cover inflation not to mention a risk premium.  Globally the pace of trade and business activity is slowing or even declining which will bring to a head the difficulties in meeting debt service and other "promises".
I ask, what will happen when inevitably "trust" begins to wane?  Or even fully break?  It is at this point the system goes into "The Great Call".  Margin call?  Of course, because nearly everything financial has leverage behind it but there is more to it than this.  The "call" I am speaking of is for contracts of all sorts to "perform".  In particular I am thinking "derivatives" contracts will be called on to perform their contractual duties.
All in all, there are over $1 quadrillion worth of derivatives outstanding.  The problem with this is the "tail" is bigger than the dog. In other words, the amount of derivatives outstanding dwarfs the total amount of money outstanding and thus the ability to "pay" and make good on the contracts.  The other side of this coin are contracts promising to deliver something.  Here I am thinking both gold and silver.  There are far more (100-1 or more) obligations outstanding than there are ounces or kilos available to deliver.  This is a default just waiting to happen.                                                              
If you listen to the Harry Dents of the world, the dollar will be the safe haven and where all fear capital will go.  In a world based on nothing but trust and promises, will fear capital really pile INTO a currency based ONLY on trust and promises …when "trust" is exactly what is come into question.  Actually, it can be said the dollar was originally set up in 1971 on a "never pay" model.  The dollar (and bonds) only promise to pay "more dollars" and nothing else.  This game worked for many years, now it looks like the Saudis after doing many deals with both Russia and China may be set to transact in currency other than dollars.  Are they displaying confidence? 
The Chinese are now net sellers of U.S. Treasuries.  Ask yourself this question, if China could sell all of their Treasuries and turn it all into gold, silver, oil, copper and other real tangible assets (without destroying the Treasury market or making gold and silver go no offer), would they?  I say yes, they absolutely would love to be out from under their Treasury position.  Apologetic others might say China is comfortable, we will soon see. 
Because confidence is the only thing at this point holding the game together …and its fickle nature, it is important for you to think this through.  What will be standing when confidence breaks?  Can banks globally survive "runs" when depositors come calling?  Can commodity exchanges deliver all they promise?  Can borrowers "borrow more" if they cannot redeem past issues with new debt?  This is where we are headed both systemically and globally!
Before finishing I want to tie two connected thoughts together.  First, the great Paul Craig Roberts said last week he feared precious metals could be suppressed forever.  I received MANY fearful e-mails regarding this thought process.  Mr. Roberts would be entirely correct if it were not for one small detail, REAL gold and REAL silver must be available to deliver.  Otherwise the game comes to an end and the fraud is exposed.  He is entirely correct, "price" can be jammed or rammed with enough "margin" posted.  Dan Norcini once upon a time had it correct when he said, nothing will unnerve the shorts more than the longs standing for delivery …and making a call for the product.  I would like to remind you, COMEX currently has only 11.7 tons of gold for delivery.  This is roughly $400 million.  If I were short, this paltry sum would not add to my confidence.
Another thought going hand in hand with this is where we are now versus 2008.  Back then we were within overnight hours of the entire system coming down, this is fact.  What has changed since then?  "Nothing", but in reality quite a bit.  Nothing has changed from the standpoint of "tools used".  We have not altered or changed anything that "got us to the brink"… only done more of it!  We have far more debt and more derivatives outstanding now.  In fact, central banks and sovereign nations have even sacrificed their balance sheets to prolong the game.  It has worked …so far.  The only problem is the entire arsenal of the central banks have already been tried and failed to provide the real economy with any stimulus.  The result has been capital pushed into financial markets and blowing the bubble(s) far larger than they were.  Now, we have far larger markets with far more leverage than 2008.  These will need to be met with central banks and sovereign treasuries with weaker balance sheets and almost no ability to borrow in an effort to reflate.  It is a recipe for disaster. 
We already know the sovereign debt markets are very thin on the bid side as liquidity has dried up.  We also know equity markets are displaying horrible internal breadth.  China is actually nearing a 1929 scenario and will be there shortly if they cannot steady.  Confidence is a fickle girl, if it breaks, then we go back to the 2008 scenario and we’ll find out just how powerful the central banks really are.  I believe the coming "Great Call" cannot nor will be met and only then will we see what is left standing.  It is imperative here and now to position yourself in assets that do stand on their own, everything else will be a broken promise!
Standing watch,
Bill Holter
Holter-Sinclair collaboration
Comments welcome! bholter@hotmail.com


Why Your Brokerage Account Isn’t as Safe as You Think It Is

from Casey Research:
Imagine logging into your brokerage account tomorrow and finding out that it’s frozen.
Not just your account… every customer account at your brokerage is frozen.
You can’t buy stocks. You can’t sell stocks. You can’t move money out of the account.
Your account rep insists the money is still there. It’s just not available now. He doesn’t know when it will be.
When you demand to transfer $25,000 cash out of the account, he says, “I’m sorry… the system won’t let me.”
Read More




Greek Stocks, Economy Collapse, Suffer Worst Declines In History

The Athens Stock Exchange reopened on Monday after a five-week hiatus. Stocks fell nearly 23% out of the gate with the country's insolvent banks trading limit-down. Meanwhile, Markit confirmed that the Greek economy has for all intents and purposes collapsed, with Greece's manufacturing PMI printing at 30.2. New orders plunged to just 17.9, betraying a contraction of unprecedented depth.



ISM Manufacturing Slumps To 3-Month Lows Led By Plunge In Employment

It appears ISM Manufacturing data has been 'leaked' early and is reportedly printing 52.7 in July, down from 53.5 prior and missing expectations. This is the weakest print since March as the Q2 bounce is now officially dead. Both imports (lowest since Jan 2013) and new export orders (lowest in 3 years) declined as employment tumbled. In fact every subcomponent fell aside from new orders, production, and supplier deliveries with order backlogs at their lowest since Nov 2012.




Obama Authorizes "Defensive" Airstrikes Against Assad Regime In Syria

"President Barack Obama has authorized using air power to defend a new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria if it is attacked by Syrian government forces or other groups, raising the risk of the American military coming into direct conflict with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad," WSJ reports.




Another One Bites The Coal Dust - Alpha Natural Files For Bankruptcy

Amid the collapse in coal prices, not helped by the 'China situation' and President Obama's nudge, WSJ reports that the ailing US coal just got another black eye as Alpha Natural Resources is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Monday to cut its more than $3 billion debt load. After four straight annual losses, Alpha - one of America's largest coal producers - has secured $692mm in DIP financing as it prepares its restructuring plan expected to sell some of the best mines and shutter others. It appears the Arch Coal's CEO's ominous words last week were prophetic - “Coal markets are as difficult as I’ve seen them during my 30 years in the industry."




WTI Crude Crashes To $45 Handle - Lowest Since March

Spending and Income data appears to have been the trigger sending WTI and Brent crude prices dramatically lower. WTI has now broken to a $45 handle, its lowest since mid-March..




Real Personal Spending Growth Weakest Since Feb, Savings Rate Rises

The good news, personal income rose a better than expected 0.4% MoM (flat to the previous month's revised lower growth). The 'meh' news, personal spending rose just 0.2% - meeting expectations - but slowing its growth dramatically from the 0.7% revised May data. And the bad news, real personal spending was unchanged in June, its weakest growth (or lack of it) since February. This means the savings rate rose from 4.6% in May to 4.8% in June - its second lowest in 2015 (but increasing just as The Fed hopes for excape velocity consumption confirmed by their rate hikes in a circular logic fallacy).




With The S&P 2% From All Time Highs, Wall Street Bearishness Is More Extreme Than March 2009

One would think contrived confidence would lead to more confidence, and manipulated market record highs would lead in abundant euphoria and market bullishness, a traditional reflexive feedback loop used and abused by central banks the world over over the past century. One would be wrong.




Hilsenrath: Fed Doesn't "Demand" Wage Growth Before Rate Hike

If last week's shocking crash in the Employment Cost Index (ECI) to the smallest increase on record, was enough for some to seal the deal that the Fed will not hike rates for the balance of 2015 (and perhaps ever), here comes the Fed's unofficial mouthpiece, WSJ's Jon "Stingy Consumers" Hilsenrath, to debunk any such speculation with a note which likely came straight from the Fed titled the "Fed Doesn’t Demand Wage Growth Before Increasing Interest Rate."




Chinese Stocks Slide Again, Copper Tumbles To 6 Year Low; Greek Market Crashes After One Month Trading Halt

If China had hoped it would root out intervention by eliminating Citadel's rigging algos, and unleash a buying spree it was wrong: the Shanghai Composite opened negative, and never managed to cross into the green, despite the usual last hour push higher, ending down -1.1% and down for 6 of the past 7 days. The real action, however, was not in Asia but in Europe, and specifically Greece, where the stock market finally reopened after a 1+ month "capital control" hiatus. Despite the attempt to micro manage the reopening, the result was not pretty, with stocks crashing 23% at the open and staging barely a rebound trading -17% as of this moment, even as banks promptly traded down to the -30% limit as the realization that an equity-eviscerating recapitalization (or bail-in) is now inevitable.


Obama’s Climate Fascism Is Another Nail In The Coffin For The U.S. Economy

by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
Is Barack Obama trying to kill the economy on purpose?  On Sunday, we learned that Obama is imposing a nationwide 32 percent carbon dioxide emission reduction from 2005 levels by the year 2030.  When it was first proposed last year, Obama’s plan called for a 30 percent reduction, but the final version is even more dramatic.  The Obama administration admits that this is going to cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars a year and that electricity rates for many Americans are going to rise substantially.  And what Obama is not telling us is that this plan is going to kill what is left of our coal industry and will destroy countless numbers of American jobs.  The Republicans in Congress hate this plan, state governments across the country hate this plan, and thousands of business owners hate this plan.  But since Barack Obama has decided that this is a good idea, he is imposing it on all of us anyway.
Read More…

You Don’t Own What You THINK You Own — Bix Weir

by SGT, SGT Report.com:



Bix Weir from Road To Roota joins us for another wake up call. As hard as it is for some folks to understand, when it come to the stock market, and even your own home, you may not own what you think you own.
According to Zero Hedge, annual ETF trading has eclipsed the entire US GDP. That’s more than $18.2 TRILLION in annual trading volume on ETF assets which total a mere $2.1 TRILLION — further evidence that the “markets” are nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
But it gets worse. Recounting the massive and blatant criminality of Wall Street, Bix reminds us the on a daily basis BILLIONS of shares are traded back and forth, and millions of those shares go unsettled. The DTCC is essentially a $19 TRILLION private bank which most people have never heard of. The DTCC is charged with settling all daily stock trades within three days, but because of computer and HFT trading the sheer volume of daily trading makes proper settlement virtually impossible. Adding to the confusion is the fact that CEDE & Co. is the secret entity behind the scenes which “owns” all of the shares. So when the system finally implodes you are likely to learn that you don’t own what you think you own.

Trust Obama Or Yourself?

from Truth Never Told:



Was The July 19 Paper Raid On Gold Implemented To Remove Gold From GLD?

by Dave Kranzler, Investment Research Dynamics:
Craig Hemke of the TF Metals Report wrote an article which has sniffed out the probable motive behind the shamelessly blatant paper smash of gold on Sunday evening July 19 at one of the quietest trading periods of the week:
As a readily-accessible source of instantly-available gold, The Authorized Participant Bullion Banks are once again redeeming their 100,000 share lots for physical gold from the GLD “inventory”. That this gold is then utilized to settle physical demand from around the globe is hardly arguable, given recent history. – Craig Hemke, TFMetalsReport.com
Read More


Former Merck Employee Targeted After Speaking out Against Forced Vaccinations

from TruthStreamMedia:



filed under (unt

"Everyday Americans" Hillary And Bill Clinton Report $140 Million In Taxable Income Since 2007

Here is the Clinton family's adjused gross income since 2007. The summary: $139.1 million in income since 2007, most of it thanks to speeches starting at $225,000 and going much higher. And that is your "everyday Americans."


Hillary Clinton’s Scandalous Record

from Rense:
Kathleen Willey is a former White House volunteer. She said Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her during his first term in office – in his Oval Office private study.
She created “A Scandal a day” web site. Her book titled “Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton” became a best seller.
Willey created her web site to alert Americans about “the potential danger of Hillary Clinton becoming president.” Among an array of rogue presidential aspirants, she stands out as especially abhorrent – a menace to world peace, stability and security as well as what remains of homeland freedoms.
image/freakingnews.com
Read More


It Gets Ugly in Canada

from Wolf Street:
“It’s an election about who will protect our economy in a period of ongoing global instability,” Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, announced on Sunday as he officially kicked off the campaign for the federal elections on October 19. He’d just asked Governor General David Johnston to dissolve Parliament.
“Now is not the time for the kind of risky economic schemes that are doing so much damage elsewhere in the world,” he said. “It is time to stay the course and stick to our plan.”
Read More

Chinese Factory Loses 90% of Its Workforce to Robots

by Joshua Krause, Daily Sheeple:
Ever since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the US has had millions of manufacturing jobs outsourced to the growing nation. But what most American’s don’t realize is that many of these Chinese workers also feel cheated by this arrangement. They’re just as frustrated with us, because they can’t afford the products that they build for the American consumer. Over the years, this resentment has fueled a surge of labor strikes and demands for better pay for these workers.
So it should come as no surprise that factory owners are more than willing to automate these jobs. While American workers have good reason to be pissed about having their jobs shipped overseas, in the very near future they’re going to find themselves in the same boat as every other blue-collar worker in the world. Their jobs won’t be outsourced to other countries, they’ll disappear entirely. Hundreds of employees with the Changying Precision Technology Company just experienced this trend firsthand.
Read More @ thedailysheeple.com

911 to Caller: ‘Deal With it Yourself,’ Hangs Up

from RTAmerica:



A teen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, called 9-1-1 when their friend was shot. The 9-1-1 dispatcher kept the caller on the line while she waited for help to arrive. The dispatcher repeatedly asked the caller if the shooting victim was breathing, and the teenager got frustrated with having to answer the same question over and over again while her friend lay dying, so she swore at the dispatcher. That’s when the dispatcher told the caller she could ‘deal with it herself” and hung up on the teen in need of help. The victim ended up dying.

Burwell: ‘I Have Not Seen the Videos,’ Let DOJ Investigate

by Susan Jones, CNSnews:
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell told Congress on Thursday that she has not seen a series of secretly-taped videos appearing to show Planned Parenthood officials negotiating the sale of aborted baby parts to people posing as buyers.
She also said HHS would not investigate any legal matter involving Planned Parenthood, but would defer those questions to the Justice Department.
“There are laws and there are statutes that guide the use of fetal tissue that are in place and should be enforced,” Burwell told the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “With regard to investigating or looking into those issues, as I said, because it is a statutory, legal issue, the Department of Justice and the attorney general has said she is taking those issues under review and will decide what the appropriate next step is.” Burwell added that HHS will support DOJ “in anything they need or want from us.”
Read More @ CNSnews.com


DIE LIKE SHEEP! Navy to Prosecute Officer For Discharging Firearm on Federal Property

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:
The hypersensitive bureaucracy that is modern-day America shows its ugly face of tyranny once again. In July Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at two military installations killing five service members before he was himself gunned down by responding officers.
Amid the chaos Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White, armed with a personal firearm, also discharged his weapon in an attempt to stop the mass shooting. It is not clear whether White struck Abdulazeez, but it can be argued that his actions certainly helped to deter further carnage because rather than walking through a military installation randomly killing unarmed victims, Abdulazeez was forced to engage armed defenders.
But none of that matters to Commander-In-Chief Barack Obama. According to a report from former Congressman Allen West, despite his heroic efforts that undoubtedly saved lives, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White is to be formally charged for discharging his firearm on federal property:
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com


Food Storage Supplies Running Out Nationwide as Citizens Prepare for September Events

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:
A recent investigation by an alternative news website turned up a shocking truth: Due to huge demand, a growing number of storable food companies are experiencing dramatic shortages of virtually all goods, meaning that, should a regional or national emergency strike, millions of Americans will be left with nothing to eat and completely dependent on an understaffed, underfunded government.
As reported by AllNewsPipeline.com (ANP), correspondents for the news site began visiting a number of survival food websites in July, with the goal of ordering some essential bulk food items that included potatoes, carrots, mangoes, peaches, powdered eggs and powdered milk, among other items. But the more they shopped, the more they found notices on the survival food sites stating that supplies were either low or temporarily out of stock.
Only, the warnings did not say that stocks would be immediately replenished; rather, the site reported, some food items would take weeks to restock.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com


China’s Meltdown And Contagion Now Spreading As Central Planners Prepare For Global Economic Chaos

from KingWorldNews:
The Chinese stock market recently saw its biggest selloff in eight years as the dramatic 8.5-percent fall in Shanghai “A” shares also rattled markets around the world. For the past few weeks China has been balancing its desire to keep the equity market from a complete meltdown with courting the international investment community in hope of being a dominant player in the capital and currency markets.
IMF Warns China
But recently the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned China about its concern over limiting investors’ freedom to take equity out of financial markets. These concerns were raised when the IMF met with officials to discuss the chances of including the yuan in the fund’s basket of currencies, also known as Special Drawing Rights (SDR).
Michael Pento continues @ KingWorldNews



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